HE stars tonight – and the next three nights – in Father and Son.
One of the best dramas you’ll see on ITV1 this year.
I met up with Dougray Scott on the banks of the Thames in London at the end of April to talk about his role as reformed gangster Michael O’Connor.
Having also spoken to him at BAFTA last year for Day of the Triffids.
You can read more about Father and Son in my MEN feature here.
We also chatted about the future, including Dougray’s reported involvement in a revival of ITV’s classic 1960s series The Saint.
The original starred Roger Moore as Simon Templar with Ian Ogilvy taking over for the short-lived The Return of the Saint in 1978.
Reports last year suggested a Canadian production company were planning to bring Templar back to the screen, with Dougray in the title role.
Dougray told me: “They’ve been trying to get it done and I thought we were going to do it this year. But there were problems with the script and the studio, so it’s on hold for a bit. That would be for American TV.
“With these things, even the slightest thing can go wrong. I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon. But it’s a great script. I’ve seen the original with Roger Moore from years ago.
“There will be a cool car. But would they give me the halo?”
*********************************************
As you can read in the feature, Dougray paid tribute to Father and Son writer Frank Deasy, who died last September.
Here are some more of his comments that I couldn’t fit into the MEN piece:
“He was a very gentle, spiritual man. I didn’t really know him that well before we started Father and Son but I got to know him incredibly well and we became very good friends.
“He was an extraordinary writer. He came at subjects matters from a very different perspective. He was really interested in giving a very unexpected and original insight into whatever world he was dealing with.
“He always wanted to humanise things, which I think he did very successfully with Father and Son, taking a gangster story and humanising it and making it accessible for an audience.”
********************************************
We also spoke about organ donation. I’ve had a donor card since I was a student but don’t carry it with me.
Having read about Frank, I went online here to ensure my details were registered and up to date.
“It took me five minutes to do it. It’s so easy to do,” agreed Dougray.
“The one good thing is he managed to inspire change in that whole donor situation, during the campaign that he conducted in the last few months of his life.”
*Father and Son begins on ITV1 at 9pm tonight.
Life of Wylie 